Caught
by Vyssirae
Summary: Hermione agrees to spy on the Slytherins for Harry and Ron, but while on duty she gets caught. The Slytherins decide the best punishment is to put her in her place, as their slave. A lot dirtier than my other fics. If you don't like, don't read.
1. Chapter 1

"What's this? A filthy little Mudblood caught in the Slytherin dungeons? Tsk tsk. Whatever shall we do with you?" A cold voice spoke from directly behind her. She gasped, whirling around straight into someone. She heard other evil chuckles surrounding her and she turned to see four others, successfully encircling her. Two muscular arms clamped around her and she opened her mouth to scream. Some form of a softly muttered silencing spell effectively quieted her. The group quickly ushered her into an empty room nearby and shoved her to the floor. Tears began pooling in her eyes. There was no escape this time. She should never have listened when Ron and Harry had told her to spy on the Slytherins. She had known that it would never work, and here she was as living proof… maybe soon she wouldn't even be living anymore. All of these thoughts flashed through her mind, before long rough hands clamped around her shoulders and forcibly dragged her to her feet.

"Look at me." He commanded. She refused. He slammed her backwards into the wall. "God damn you, bitch! Look at me." She still wouldn't look up as her eyes finally overflowed. A hand grabbed her jaw roughly and moved her head to face his. He hadn't expected her to glare at him through her tears.

"Finally a response." He chuckled. "Now tell me Granger, what the fuck are you doing here?" He watched as she warily glanced at everyone in the room and tightened her jaw. She voiced no response. "Looks like we'll need to do this the hard way. This'll be fun. Crabbe, Goyle go to the common room, deter everyone from coming here. No matter what you have to do." They filed out of the room. He stared at her in the face for a moment before stepping back. "I'll be right back. When I'm back you'd better be more talkative Granger." He swept out sending a careful look at Pansy Parkinson and Blaise Zabini before he closed the door behind him. Pansy smirked.

Pansy stomped over and abruptly slapped the girl across the face. "Hermione Granger you whore!" she hissed. "Never deny Draco what he wants! You'll learn that soon!" She grabbed Hermione by her hair and smashed Hermione's head backwards into the wall. Hermione let out an involuntary yelp as she felt her head spilt open and blood begin to roll down her neck and stain her shirt. "Tell me why you're here!" Pansy screamed. Hermione stubbornly snapped her mouth shut and Pansy narrowed her eyes. She slammed her fist into Hermione's stomach. Hermione heaved, but made no other noise. Pansy continued punching, slapping, kicking every inch of Hermione until she could no longer stand. Still Hermione refused to voice why she was in the Dungeons.

Finally a quiet, "Pans, stop." Came from across the room. Pansy momentarily stopped.

"Why should I?" she complained.

Blaise glided over to them and knelt down beside Hermione. "Because Hermione doesn't need this. She has every right to be down here."

Pansy gasped in shock. "_Hermione?_ Blaise have you _lost it_? She is nothing more than filth! Mudblood scum!"

"Pansy. Leave. NOW." Blaise growled.

Pansy ground her teeth and sprinted to the door. "Believe me, Draco _will_ hear about this, Zabini!" she traded a triumphant glance with Blaise before slamming the door shut.

Slowly Blaise placed his arm around Hermione's shoulders. "Hermione? I'm so sorry. Here, let me fix you up." He leaned her up against him and began placing the various spells to heal up all of her cuts and bruises, then used another spell to clean the blood from her clothes. Finally when all looked normal he spoke again. "Why did you do that to yourself, Hermione? You know all that you needed to do was tell them why you are here and they would have stopped."

"No. They would have killed me." She whispered.

Blaise allowed himself a small smirk when she wasn't looking. She was already opening up. "You can't know that. They can't possibly kill someone like you."

She glanced up startled. "Why not?"

"Because no one could kill someone who has such an amazing heart underneath it all. It makes you too beautiful."

Hermione snorted. "Yeah right. None of you can even touch me, let alone see me for anything other than a _Mudblood_." She spat.

"But you're much more than that." He breathed as he scooted closer to her, still hugging her shoulders, until their legs touched. "You're a beautiful, intelligent woman. You even have a heart, which is more than I can say for all the Purebloods I know." When she glanced up at him again Blaise could she the turmoil in her eyes as she began to trust him. He knew he was winning. He moved his free hand up and stroked her cheek gently with the backs of his fingers. As her eyes fluttered closed he knew he was in control. "Hermione," he let her name roll off of his tongue. "_I_ don't mind touching you." She shuddered.

Then he kissed her. It was amazing. She had never been kissed like this before. So soft, so passionately. She responded. His eyes widened in surprise. The Gryffindor Lioness was a damn good kisser. He slid his tongue along her bottom lip asking for entrance. She obliged. She moaned as his tongue slid into her mouth and massaged her own. He pulled her up onto his lap and she slid her arms around his neck, entwining her fingers in his hair as she lost herself. After a few minutes they pulled apart and he rested his forehead against hers. "No one can kill you." He panted.

She sighed. "But they will if they find out that Harry and Ron sent me to spy on all of you." She whispered mournfully. His eyes flashed momentarily, so short that she was sure she imagined it.

"Why would they want to spy on us?" he breathed as his lips began caressing her jaw line.

Her breath hitched. "Be-because they believe that- that you are conspiring with Vol-" Her explanation was cut short as his lips came crushing back onto hers. His hand moved to the hem of her shirt. His hands began to move underneath when Hermione finally came to her senses. "Stop." He pulled back in surprise.

"What?"

"Stop."

He smirked. "Honey, you should have said that a _long_ time ago. Before you let me get all the information we wanted." He turned his face toward the door. "Draco, come on in!" He yelled. Draco stepped in, also smirking.

"Well?" Draco asked.

"The Mudblood was sent by her boyfriends, Potty and Weasel. They wanted her to spy on us to see if we were Death Eaters." Hermione gasped in shock at his words, but before she could pull away Blaise grabbed her and spun her so that her back was to his chest. He put one hand around her neck, used his other arm to secure her two arms and used his legs to hold hers in place. He chuckled menacingly in her ear. "My, my, what a little slut you are. Giving away all your secrets for a simple kiss." She shivered at how different, how evil his voice sounded. "You know, had you let me shag you I might have tried to convince them to go easy on you. But of course, you have too much pride for that, don't you?"

"You _lied_ to me?" she cried, incredulous.

"You are looking at a Slytherin, Granger." Draco spoke up. Hermione became silent after that comment. She hung her head in shame. She had betrayed her friends. There was a long silence and she knew that both Slytherins were sizing her up.

Then Draco spoke the words she had been dreading to hear. "And now for the matter of your punishment." The two men moved her over and placed her helplessly in the middle of the room. Securing her in place with a spell that sent magical ropes flying from their wands. Then the two began whispering fiercely. She could see that really they were deciding her fate in their small conversation. After about ten minutes they turned to Hermione both with odd smirks on their faces. "We have decided what we will do." Hermione moved her head to stare up at them defiantly. "You shall be our slave. Mine from Sunday through Friday, Blaise's on Saturdays. This will continue until we see fit to release you." He paused for a second and Hermione began thinking of ways around what he was suggesting. He of course knew this. "Oh, and one more thing. We have a spell to perform on you, one that will allow us to have our control over you. No, it is not '_imperio.' _Though it is dark magic all the same."

The two boys advanced on her, wands raised muttering strings of words that she couldn't understand. At the end of the spell six chains of multicolored magic sprang forth from Draco's wand and one single chain came from Blaise's. The chains wrapped around her neck and sank slowly into her skin. Seconds later she felt an odd tingling on her right hip bone, which quickly faded. Her ropes fell and she carefully got to her feet. She stood still for a moment then leaped toward the men.

"Stop." Draco said calmly. Hermione stopped in midair. She gaped. She couldn't move. Draco walked up to her carefully. "Granger, already trying to hurt me? Well you see, this may not be _imperio_, but it still holds indefinite control over you. It is in some ways more efficient than _imperio_. No matter what we tell you, you will do, no questions asked. I can even make you fall in love." He put his mouth beside her ear. "You are _mine_." A few moments passed before Draco spoke again. "Now. Stand on your feet, and escort Blaise to the door. Open it for him and kiss him goodbye. Then close the door behind him."

Hermione did exactly as she was told. She even managed to look as though nothing was wrong. Inside her head however she was screaming to be released. She was caged up and had no way to escape. She barely even registered Blaise's wink that he sent towards Draco. Then Draco called again. "Granger come over here." She did. He placed his hand underneath her jaw and she watched warily as he leaned in seemingly to kiss her. He abruptly stopped. "Kiss me."

Entirely against her will Hermione leaned in. Tentatively her lips brushed his. Immediately she forced herself backwards.

"Granger you are amazingly stupid. Sure the spell let you stop, but what do you think I'll do now? Do you think I'll let it end there? Of course not. Now. Do not pull away."

Draco forcefully shoved his lips against hers with enough force to bruise. Hermione would not allow herself to respond. This was her enemy. Never would she let him enjoy consensual control over her. Draco slid his tongue over her bottom lip. To this Hermione did respond. She opened her lips slightly and felt his tongue slip into her mouth. The moment it was past her teeth she attempted to bite down with all of her might. However, just as her teeth were about to bite him, immense pain shot through her. She cried out as white-hot heat flew down her spine. The only thing that kept her standing was Draco's order to not pull away.

Draco stepped back at her cry, chuckling. "Silly girl, did you honestly expect to be allowed to hurt me? The spell was made better than that. There are quite a few perks to this spell that are in my favor. But alas, it is getting late isn't it. Tell me, when are Potter and Weaselby expecting you back?"

"El-ele-" she attempted to lie. Pain shot through her again. "Eleven." She forced out.

"You lie. Tell me the truth."

"Two a.m." She voiced, defeat evident in her voice.

"That late?" Draco laughed. "They expected nothing to happen to you until two a.m.? Are they honestly that dim? Do they not respect us Slytherins at all? And even better, why'd you listen to those buffoons?" He glanced her over then looked at his watch. "Well looks like we do have a bit of time after all. I think it might be time for me to give you some orders for when we are in general public. For now I want you to act as though nothing has changed, though you will refrain from insulting, attacking, or otherwise embarrassing me. I want you to begin noticing every little annoying thing that Potter and Weasel do. Everything. I want it to really annoy you. Hmm, I think I may need to research for a dark magic spell to let you hear any orders I _think_ at you… That would make things a lot easier. Well, that's it for now. I do believe though that I could really like for you to snog me. A real snog, with tongue and everything. I want you to want me."

Hermione began to feel a need for Draco, a need so intense that she was fighting herself not to throw herself at him. Draco watched her struggle in her eyes. He could see momentary lust, which would then be replaced by defiance. He chuckled. "Granger, I order you to want me. Now." This threw her over the edge. She lunged at him, throwing her arms around his neck. She attacked his lips with her own. He responded and she could feel his mouth form a small smirk. Her arms pulled him closer, and she felt his slide around her waist, resting on her ass. He pulled her flush against him. Hermione felt no urge to pull away from him anymore. Everything was centered on this perfect being that she saw. After a little while Draco pulled away from her. She moaned in protest and attempted to resume their previous actions. Draco's smirk was all too evident as he said, "Granger, stop."

Suddenly Hermione snapped back to herself. She gasped. "What the hell! How can that spell make me do that! You undo this spell you piece of shit!"

"Ah, ah, ah, do you forget your place Mudblood?" His eyes were filled with amusement. "I do however believe that you might need to get back to your dorms. Lead me there."

"I can't lead you to the Gryffindor dorms!"

"I believe that was an order."

Hermione swept around and right out of the door. She made as much noise as possible all the way up to the great room that was the entrance of Hogwarts. Draco finally caught up with her. "Keep quiet! Do you want to get caught?"

"Yes." She said, though she was forced to quiet down. They finally reached the painting of the Fat Lady that was the entrance to the Gryffindor Common Room. When Hermione stopped Draco quickly pulled her against him.

"Now listen Granger," he hissed, "You are going to forget about being my slave. Also, no matter what happens you can not tell anyone about being my slave, you cannot imply it, write it, sign it, nothing. You cannot help anyone to become suspicious either. You shall not let anyone find out anything about it. When your boyfriends ask about what you found out tell them that you found out nothing, and that you feel that you must continue keeping watch to find out any information. Understand? Now go, make sure to say the password loud enough for me to hear and be slow to close the painting."

Hermione made her way to the painting, fighting as she felt her memories of being Draco's slave slowly trickled away. She stopped in front of the picture, not remembering how she had come to be there. She said the password, "Of true heart," clearly, if a bit loud, and climbed inside. Hermione took extra time closing the painting this time, though she didn't know why she needed to.

Harry and Ron were lounging by the fire, but other than that the common room was empty. The two boys looked up eagerly. They motioned for her to take her normal seat right next to the fire, across from both of their seats. She did and then they began their interrogation.

"Hey Herm! So did you learn anything? You came back early." Harry began.

"No Harry, I'm really sorry but I didn't learn anything." Both boys visibly drooped. Then Hermione heard a wisp of a voice speak in her ear.

"Don't acknowledge this voice, but repeat everything I say," Draco whispered from somewhere beside her.

After that Hermione began to voice everything that Draco said, "I'm sorry I came back early. Nothing was happening down there. There weren't even second years snogging in broom closets. I figured that since nothing had happened for three hours, nothing would."

"Nobody was out at all?" Ron asked, disbelievingly.

"Not that I saw, and you know me. I was very thorough." Hermione began to talk in monotone. She wanted Harry and Ron to see that something was wrong, but she had no way to show them. She gave up. "Guys, I'm sorry but I haven't been getting much sleep lately. I think I'm going to head up to bed."

They looked at her with worry evident in their eyes. "Alright 'mione. Sleep well!"

"Goodnight."

"Now if the rumors are correct, there is something wrong with the steps up to the girls' dorms. What is it?" Draco again whispered.

"The stairs turn into a slide if a boy tries to go up them."

Harry and Ron shot her worried looks. "We know. Uhm…you really do need sleep don't you?"

Hermione ignored them and walked upstairs. She could have sworn she heard some spells muttered somewhere nearby, but she really was too tired to care.


	2. Chapter 2

I'm going to start out apologizing. I'm sorry this chapter is so short! I got so much of a response i really wanted to get something up! So please keep reviewing! It'll mean more chapters. I wanted to write more in this chapter, but after i wrote this, i needed a break from the depressing-ness. You'll see what i mean. WARNING: GRAPHIC VIOLENCE.

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Chapter 2

When Hermione began climbing the staircase into her room it finally hit her just how much she had – quite literally – been beaten up that day. She nearly stumbled as her foot hit the first step as a wave of pain slammed into her stomach. She attempted to ignore it and trekked the rest of the way to her room. Her room was located right at the top of the Gryffindor girls' side of the dormitory. It was part of her privileges of being named Head Girl for that year. Although today it seemed to be less of a privilege and more of a cruel joke.

After a very slow, very painful ascent, she finally arrived at her door. She quickly ran her finger over the wood in an intricate pattern and the lock clicked open. Without pausing to change clothes, she fell into bed. Hermione barely shut her eyes when a rap at her window had her shooting straight up in panic. She tiptoed over to the window and looked out, seeing nothing. Scanning around all she could see in the darkness outside was the even darker silhouette of the Forbidden forest in the distance and the moon reflecting off of the lake below.

"Hermione Granger, you need to stop imagining things," she murmured to herself as she turned back to go to bed. This time she decided to get changed to go to bed. She pulled off her shirt and her pants and moved to grab a nightgown. Again there was a rap at her window. She shrieked and covered her nearly naked body, spinning around toward the window. Again there was nothing. Carefully she undid the lock and before she could even open the window, it slammed open. A few moments later Draco Malfoy appeared out of thin air holding his broomstick and what appeared to be a larger version of Harry's invisibility cloak. Mortified and in shock, she grabbed for the closest thing to cover herself.

Of course what she grabbed was a book.

Unfortunately for her, the little novel didn't cover her nearly enough, so she was forced to grab her sheets off of her bed and wrapped them around herself. All of this happened in the span of a few seconds.

"What the hell are you doing here?" she screamed once she was covered.

"Now now Hermione, is that any way to talk to your master?"

"My master? Oh you're right. I didn't show you nearly enough courtesy," Hermione snarled. She spit right at his feet. To her surprise, he smirked at her. A little bit of fear started to snake its way into her stomach.

"You should know better than that. I'm going to have to teach you better manners aren't I?" He started to roll back one of his sleeves and then paused. "On second thought, perhaps I should have you teach yourself. I wouldn't want to dirty my hands on you."

Hermione looked at him confused. "Teach myself a le-"

"Slam your face into the bedpost as hard as you can," he interrupted.

She could not disobey him. She slammed her face into the bedpost. There was a crunch and blood began pouring from her nose and she staggered backwards, falling to the floor. She cried out as her fall shook her newly broken nose. She made the mistake of grabbing her nose and tears began streaming down her face as the pain grew to an excruciating level.

"Well it seems you followed that order well enough."

Hermione spat at him again, this time a fair amount of blood as well as spit landed at his feet.

"It seems like you really are a glutton for punishment Granger. Are you a masochist? Let's see if it suits you. Beg me to hurt you."

Hermione's pride was deflating further and further as the words spilled from her lips. "Hurt me. Please, hurt me," she whispered.

"Louder. Say my name."

"Draco please hurt me!" she begged. "I want you to hurt me!"

"Why didn't you just say that in the first place Granger? _Crucio_."

Hermione writhed on the floor screaming. She couldn't make herself stop. She couldn't make the pain go away. His smirking face never left her vision. Even when she closed her eyes it was still there, floating in the darkness. When the pain finally stopped, she cracked open her eyes hoping against hope that he would have left. But he hadn't. He had moved to sit on the edge of her bed, but he was still there.

"Come kneel before me."

She stood up on legs that could barely support her weight and hobbled over to kneel in front of him. Her head hung low and out the corner of her eye she could see the puddle of smeared blood across her floor where she had lain writhing in pain moments before.

"Look into this mirror. Look at the filth you really are."

Hermione looked up into the mirror Draco had conjured into his hand. She looked into the face of a monster. She knew her face hid there somewhere beneath all of the bruises and swollen skin. Her nose was a large purple mass of skin at an odd angle she knew it hadn't been at that morning. Dried blood ran down from her nose and down her chin. The area underneath her eyes was swollen from all of the crying and there was a huge bedpost sized bruise and bump running up her forehead. Splinters and smears of blood from the floor covered her cheeks. Her hair was matted with blood. _'I am filthy,' _she thought.

Draco tapped the top of the mirror with his wand. "Now this, this is what you will look like tomorrow morning for breakfast." The image in the mirror changed. It was still her, but her hair was silky and smooth and straight. Her face was perfectly clear with none of the normal freckles, and it was covered with makeup. The swelling was nowhere to be seen, the bruises were gone, her nose was in place. Then the image in the mirror moved down her body. She was wearing her school robes in the image, but beneath them, her skirt was several inches shorter than normal, not even reaching midway down her thigh, and her blouse was also a different size, much smaller. It barely covered her stomach and her breasts looked like they would pop the buttons off of the top.

"I can't wear that. There's nothing there!" Hermione croaked hoarsely.

"I order you to look like that for breakfast tomorrow, and make sure to walk in later than you normally do. Late enough so everyone will look up and see you for the dirty whore you are underneath." He twisted his hand and the mirror disappeared. Draco stood up.

"Stand and look at me."

Hermione stood and looked up into Draco's face. He raised his wand and touched her cheek. She flinched.

"Don't move away," he whispered. Hermione stood still. The wand against her cheek blazed white hot and he moved it along her cheek, cutting through it like a knife. Hermione cried out at the unexpected pain, but didn't move away. Slowly, almost lovingly Draco slid his thumb along the bottom edge of the cut. When he pulled it away, he stared at the blood on his thumb and then did the last thing Hermione would have anticipated. He licked it off. She gasped in total disgust.

After a moment of contemplation, Draco spoke. "It seems my father was correct. Blood spilled from a Mudblood by force is the sweetest thing I will ever taste." He grabbed his broom and his invisibility cloak. "Don't forget, come to breakfast looking as I said and tomorrow night you will volunteer yourself to spy on us again. You're going to meet me in the room we had you in tonight. Be there by 9."

Before Hermione could respond, he had disappeared underneath his cloak and the curtains fluttered as he flew out. She collapsed onto the floor in tears. Her entire life that had looked so bright that morning now looked like nothing but an endless tunnel of darkness and pain. After what was maybe an hour spent on the floor, she finally dragged herself to her feet.

She shuffled into the small bathroom attached to her room and grabbed her wand off of the counter. If only she had had it on her that night in the dungeons. Slowly her eyes lifted to the mirror. Before her was that monster that she had seen in the mirror. What she hadn't seen in that mirror was the rest of her body. It was covered in a mess of bruises and blood. Her bra was barely hanging on to her body after her time spent writhing on the floor, and her underwear was twisted to the point it barely covered anything. The bruising on her stomach from Pansy Parkinson was like a collage of purples, blues, and yellows. No part of her was unscathed.

She began the tedious work of healing herself. She started with her nose. The cartilage grated as it slid back into place and once again, tears were streaming down her face. The pain was almost unbearable to the point where she believed it was a curse that she couldn't just black out. She couldn't just escape from everything. From anything.

When the magic stopped working, she was able to breathe and the swelling was gone. Everything was in place. She moved on to her assortment of bruises. Finally she stopped at the cut along her cheek. With shaking hands, she lifted her own finger to caress the bottom of the cut. For some reason she couldn't make herself stop looking at this last reminder of the day's pain. She used her wand and closed up the cut, and then cast the spell to make the scar of the cut disappear.

Nothing happened.

She cast the spell again.

The scar remained securely in place.

This was the last straw. She pulled back the curtain of her shower and leapt into it, turning the water all the way up. She sat on the bottom and let the scalding hot water run over her skin as she cried, scratching at the ugly reminder of the hell she was going to endure every day for as long as she survived.

She must have been in there for hours because it was her morning alarm that woke her from her reverie. Groaning, she pulled her way to her feet and began to get ready for what could be the worst day of her entire life. She used a spell to straighten her hair and apply the copious amounts of makeup. Everything took her more time than usual this morning. By the time she was done with those things, a glance at the time had her rushing for her clothes. She was almost out the door when a thought flew into her mind.

Shakily, she raised her wand and raised the hem to the place on her thigh that the image had shown. Then with a gulp, she shrank her blouse. When she could barely breathe, she knew it was tight enough. Unfortunately she was forced to undo a few more buttons to prevent her boobs from breaking through the shirt. Hermione felt disgusting. She had never looked this disgraceful in her life. She did look like a whore. She _felt_ like a whore. She pulled her robe as tightly as she could around herself and grabbed her bag and began her death march to the Great Hall.


	3. Chapter 3

Alright, chapter 3! This is actually half as long as i intended to post which is why it took me so long to post this, but i am still debating what's going to happen in the next part. Please review and give me some ideas or feedback. I'd love to hear what you guys think!

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Chapter 3

The walk didn't take nearly long enough. Hermione was at the doors far sooner than she would have liked. She would have given anything to extend that walk, or to not enter that room altogether, but the spell was trapping her. She could feel its chains closing in around her because breakfast was nearly over. There was a painful pressure building up within her skull. There was no escaping it, and so she slowly pushed the doors open.

Everything was normal for the most part as she entered the room. People walked in late to breakfast all the time. There were only four people looking in her direction. Two were worried and two were excited. She barely glanced at the Slytherin table, where two faces stood out of the crowd, leering. Her eyes shot downward to the floor as she registered their expressions and her arms tightened around her body, desperately tugging her robe around herself, preserving what dignity she could with the thin cloth.

As each footstep brought her closer to her table, she was forced to look up. She couldn't risk tripping over someone or something. She had to watch where she was going, and her eyes met the concerned gaze of her friends. The only two she trusted to save her from this mess. The two she had to try hardest to keep from finding out.

When she got near them, Ron slid down a seat so that Hermione would be sitting between them. She sat, carefully holding her robe in place. She knew she was in for trouble when they both turned to face her.

"Hermione…" Ron began. "You're hair is different. Are you ill? I mean, you're never late to breakfast. You normally beat us here."

"No. I'm alright," Hermione's voice was very quiet, but steady.

"I don't think you are," Harry said seriously. "Did something happen in the dungeons yesterday? Were you hurt? You know we wouldn't blame you for anything that happened."

Ron interrupted. "Well, unless you told those snakes what you were doing down there."

Harry shot him a glare and continued, "We would even forgive you for that. We care about you Hermione. Tell us what happened. We're your best friends."

Harry's words were like knives into her heart. She wanted to tell him so bad, wanted everything to be all right again, but she was terrified of the pain that would come from her breaking orders. She knew they could see the pain of indecision in her eyes. They were becoming more and more worried. Finally she could take it no more. She decided she would deal with whatever pain attacked her body, if only she could tell them.

"Th-" Hermione began, but that was all she was able to get out. Her hands that were clutched so tightly to her robe leapt to her skull as the pain she had been dreading exploded in her head. She nearly screamed. "No-nothing happened!" she forced out, and immediately the throbbing disappeared.

But Harry and Ron weren't thinking about that subject anymore. "What are you _wearing_?" Ron cried. She had let the robe slip open.

"I-" she began, but she had no suitable explanation.

Harry opened and shut his mouth a few times before finally he could speak. "Hermione, your hair, your face, the way you're acting, your _clothes_…You aren't alright are you?"

"No," she rapidly forced out, but she jumped up as the throbbing in her head reappeared and for some reason, their constant worry was starting to annoy her. "You guys are wrong!" she screamed. "I'm fine! I'm completely fine! You don't ever believe what I have to say. And is it not ok for me to be a _girl_? I'm wearing makeup and I did my hair. So what? For the last time. I. Am. Fine."

Her screaming had done something she had forgotten to anticipate. Everyone in the Great Hall was looking right at her. Her and her open robes. Her and her ridiculously small clothing underneath. As she calmed down from her rant she looked around at all of the staring faces. Some guys were staring unabashedly. A few girls had already traded looks and started whispering quietly among themselves. All around there was silence.

Until of course someone at Slytherin spoke. Blaise Zabini raised his voice, "Well _someone_ obviously is a bit _frustrated_. Potter and Weasley must not be performing."

Hermione quickly wrapped her robe around herself. "No!" she whispered hoarsely. Tears started streaming down her face and as she looked to her two best friends for support, neither would look at her. She rushed from the Great Hall as all of the talking and gossiping began with renewed vigor.

Once she made it out the door she ran. There was no place to which she was actually headed, but there was no staying in the school. She ran until she was outside, until she was past the lake, until she was right near the Forbidden Forest. It was then that she slowed down. She walked right up to a large tree and then slid her back down the trunk. The bark bit into her robe and into her back, but after everything else, she didn't even notice. It was here that she cried, and as she cried she began to think.

"What am I going to do?" she said aloud. "They covered every exit. Who knows if there is even a way to break this spell. I wish I could talk to Ron and Harry about it. They would get me out of this. If only they were smarter! They never tried to pay attention to school or to me! They always ask the wrong things. If it weren't for me they would never have made it this far. Oh no, this was that thing Malfoy said. 'Every little thing they do is going to annoy you.' Or something like that. I can't let it work! This is crazy! How can a spell have this much control? How could I have lost everything so fast? I can't even control my thoughts. What if I start helping them? I can't let that happen! I would rather die."

Thoughts started swirling around inside her head. They hadn't forbidden that. She could kill herself if things started to get out of control. Pain and everything she could deal with. But she would have to sacrifice herself if they started getting her to spy on the Order or if they asked her to help the Dark Side. She sat there and planned the execution. Planned everything down to her last breath. Planning her own death surprisingly made her feel better. It gave her a small sense of control. A way to rebel. Ironically, it gave her a way to live.

Finally she got up with renewed resolve. Sure they had embarrassed her, even trashed her reputation. They were trying to break her, but they could break every bone in her body, she wasn't going to completely give in to them. Ever. As she made her way back into the castle, she steeled herself for the day to come.

Her first class was potions and she was already 20 minutes late for class. She knew that she needed to expect the worst. Right outside the door she almost decided to do something she had never done voluntarily before. She almost decided to skip the class altogether. Instead, she took a deep breath, grabbed the handle, and then stepped back from the door again. She pulled out her wand and quickly conjured a rope, which she tied around her waist to hold her robe shut, and then entered the classroom.

Professor Snape stopped talking. But it didn't take him long to come up with something to say. "Nice of you to show up Miss Granger, 30 points from Gryffindor, and next time you'd better be on time for my class." He turned as if to continue his class, picking up his wand. "Oh and Miss Granger," he said without turning around. "I do believe that that rope is not a part of our uniform. Please remove it from your person immediately."

Slowly her hands found the rope and untied it. Her robes slid open, and she did nothing to catch them. She walked with head held high to her seat. Harry and Ron both avoided her eyes, but across the room, Draco and Blaise looked at her with confusion and interest. It took her a minute to realize what she had done. She had piqued their curiosity and their interest. There was a good chance she was in for trouble again.

Classes for the rest of the day continued without much of a hitch. She received a few raised eyebrows from professors and students alike, but she did her best to ignore their expressions. After all, with her preceding reputation, they should know her better than that. And if they chose to question her motives, they were the ones at fault. Dutifully she kept her head down, completed her work with her normal precision, and after classes she even attended dinner. Most faces turned her way when she entered and sat down, but the interest soon died down when she didn't react to their stares.

After dinner however, the dread began to fill her again. Time was moving much too fast and the hours flew by. Soon it was half past 8 and she could escape her fate no longer. She could already feel the tug of the spell dragging her toward her door. She made her way down to the Common Room and approached Ron and Harry. They looked up at her warily.

"I want to go down and see if I see anything tonight. I know I didn't do a good job last night. I owe it to you two."

They continued to watch at her in silence until Harry decided to speak up. "Alright then. What time will you be back?"

"I don't know," for once she could speak to them honestly, "Most likely later than last night. I want to stay until I find something."

Ron was glaring into the fireplace. "Good, at least do something right today."

Annoyance started to surge forward, but she forced it back. Harry watched her intently as she turned her back on them and approached the portrait hole. "Be safe Hermione," he called after her. She didn't even glance back.

Draco and Blaise were waiting for her when she got to the room. They had conjured cushioned chairs to sit in, and a rag-looking piece of cloth lay before them. As she entered the room, they quieted whatever conversation they had been having and watched her. Leered at her was perhaps the more accurate term. Deciding to stay on their good graces, she approached them and then knelt to the ground, keeping her head lowered and eyes set firmly on the floor.

There was a long silence, and the anticipation began to overwhelm her. She was prepared for a near bloodbath, not for silence. Just as the feeling was getting to be too much, Draco spoke. "I think this is a fake display of obedience, what about you Blaise?"

"My thoughts exactly. Did you see the way she held herself during classes? Obviously we haven't done a good enough job." A good enough job of what? Hermione allowed herself to glance up for just a moment, and was terrified by what she saw. Instead of malice, Blaise's eyes were filled with a hunger, scanning her body up and down. Taking note of every inch, every spot of skin showing on her body. Unconsciously she covered as much of her body as she was able without making a distinct move. She would prefer to be beaten than to have Blaise act on the pure sexual desire she saw within his eyes.

Hermione flinched and began to shake as she saw Blaise reach for his wand. Not wanting to give them the satisfaction of seeing her fear she took a few slow shaky breaths. Draco smirked at her.

"Ah ah ah. I order you to show us the fear that you are feeling. Let us see the terror on your face, your body shaking, the cold sweat breaking out on your skin. Whatever you are focusing on to try to forget your fear, forget about that."

A wave of pure terror washed over her as all of her defenses against it fell. She began shaking uncontrollably. Her fear was only made worse when Blaise began laughing.

"Little Mudblood, you were doing a decent job hiding your fear. We definitely haven't done enough to you yet. We should frighten you. You have no idea what we are capable of. What I can't wait to do to you." Blaise looked over to Draco as he got to his feet. "Tell her to stay still," he said to Draco.

Draco obliged and tears began to flow from Hermione's eyes as her mind filled with the terrible images of what could happen tonight. Images of being beaten and bleeding even of being raped ran like a video in her mind. She had always heard stories, but she had never once imagined something like that happening to her. She always believed she was strong, but now she wasn't even able to fight back. She was helpless to Blaise's plans for her. He was right. She had no idea what they would do.


	4. Chapter 4

Sorry it took me so long to get this chapter out. I had to figure out where I really want this story to go , even after this chapter and on top of that, I've been super busy! I really hope you like this chapter. As always, please review. They really are what keeps me writing this story.

Chapter 4

Blaise slowly moved over toward her. His mouth formed a sneer as his eyes roamed her immobile frame. He stopped right in front of her and placed his hands on her shoulders. Her eyes, wide with fear stared straight at him, waiting for his next move. Suddenly his fist knocked against the side of her head and she fell sideways, unable to catch herself in any way. Her head hit the stone floor and lights shot across her vision. Though her vision was blurred she was still able to feel Blaise roll her onto her back and move overtop of her body.

She could still feel his hands running over her body. Still feel him tearing her shirt down the front. Could still feel his cold hands sliding up the skin of her stomach and overtop of her bra. She could still feel the tears sliding down her cheeks. She was utterly helpless. She couldn't move. She couldn't beg.

"Fuck Granger. You have such a hot body under those robes. I got a glimpse around that tiny skirt you wore today, and even then I could barely resist shoving you against a wall. I want to fuck you straight into the stones. I want you to be bruised all over when I'm done with you. I want to break you. And I always get what I want." He ground into her, and she could feel how much he wanted her. But then he stopped, and through her tear-blurred eyes she could see why. Draco had stood up. He stepped closer to the pair, and Hermione prayed that maybe he was going to stop this disaster before it could go any further. Maybe he did have a heart in there somewhere.

"I think it's about time I joined in the fun. Don't you?"

Blaise smirked and slid backwards a bit, off of Hermione. She glared up at Draco, anger finally setting in through her fear. They were playing with her like a toy. She wouldn't allow them to break her like this. She couldn't do that to Harry and Ron. She couldn't do that to the Order. She would never betray them. Especially not for these worthless terrorists.

"Kneel bitch."

Hermione found herself shooting up into the kneeling position before Draco's feet. She hated the control he had over her and her body. She hated everything about him. She hated that he thought he was perfect. That he could get whatever he wanted all the time. She always had worked for everything she received. Her parents made her work for an allowance. She studied hours now for the grades she got. But his parents probably paid for him to get his good marks. They could buy obedience from anyone. And she hated them all for it. She channeled all of that hatred and spite into the look she gave him.

"What are you thinking?" he asked. And she told him. She had no choice.

"You and every bloody Slytherin gets whatever money can buy. You buy people. You buy creatures to be your slaves. You all think you're so perfect. That no matter what, you will always get whatever you want. Even he thinks he can," she said with a nod at Blaise. "But that's not right! We are all human beings. We have rights. You can't go around treating us all like trash. You are all so stuck on yourself you don't see your own greatest flaws. None of you have an ounce of humility and love in your body. You will never win because you don't care about anyone but yourselves and when it comes right down to it. Each of you will betray each other to get to the top. It makes me sick!" She was so worked up, she almost missed the way his eyebrows raised just a bit. Like he didn't believe she thought that. But it was there. Hermione couldn't figure out why he would have any disbelief.

_ 'Maybe I can learn more from this situation than I thought.'_

There was a long period of silence as they stared at each other. Finally Draco grabbed her roughly and pulled her to her feet. And Hermione experienced a confusing slew of emotions. Part of her dreaded her next order. But part of her anticipated it. She hated waiting around for answers, and waiting to find out what would happen next was almost as bad.

"I love my mother. Don't ever say that we don't love each other. She loves me and I love her. A lot of families aren't as lovey dovey as your precious Weasleys. But maybe it's you who doesn't understand. At least we are open about what we want. We don't get stepped all over like you mudbloods and blood traitors. You deserve it because you let it happen."

He obviously had more to say, but at this instant, a thundering knock came from the door. "Hermione! Hermione! Are you alright?" Harry's voice penetrated the room.

Ron's soon followed. "Malfoy! Zabini! We know you're in there! Let us in!"

The hammering continued.

Draco shoved her hard enough that she fell to the ground. "How do they know we're in here?" he hissed. Blaise jabbed a wand into her throat as she pushed herself to her feet. "HOW DO THEY KNOW?"

"I...I don't know."

Draco took a deep breath. "How can they find where you are?"

"Marauder's Map?" she whispered.

"What is it?" He growled over the banging on the door as he grabbed both of her arms hard enough to bruise.

"A map of Hogwarts. It shows where people are."

Draco groaned. Quickly he waved his wand over her and her clothing weaved its way back together. Dirt from the floor whisked away. He stepped back from her and with a nod to Blaise, they both moved across the room. Blaise flicked his wand and the lock clicked open. Moments later, the door slammed open and Harry and Ron came sprinting into the room.

"Get away from her!" they screamed. And then they realized that Hermione was standing alone in the center of the room. They blushed a moment at their dramatic entrance being wasted, but soon ran forward to approach Hermione. Harry pulled her behind himself and Ron pointed his wand at the two Slytherins.

"Are you alright?" Harry whispered.

She wanted to say "No! I was nearly raped. I'm under their control. My reputation has been ruined. Help me!" But she couldn't. So instead she nodded.

"Hermione. Their dots were right on top of yours. How did they hurt you?"

"They didn't."

"Then what..." His hand dropped from her arm as an idea of what had been occurring popped into his head. "Please tell me...please tell me it wasn't what I think it was."

"No! No of course it wasn't!" she cried out on the outside, but inside she was appalled by how close his assumption had been to what had happened.

"Then tell me what was going on!"

"I can't!"

"Why not?"

"I...Ugh! I can't tell you!"

"Are you under a spell?"

She shook her head "no" while screaming "yes with all of her might inside of her mind.

The entire conversation took a matter of seconds. But it proved to Hermione one thing. That Harry and Ron weren't going to be able to save her. They didn't even know she needed saving. She was the only one who could do it. And she had no idea how to actually manage it. But one thing was for sure. Anything Harry and Ron did to them would only make them more angry. So she was going to have to make a decision right away, and it wasn't particularly a nice one. Hermione quickly jumped in front of Ron and knocked his wand aside as he cast his first spell in Draco's direction. Whatever it had been flew to the side of Draco and shredded a book into miniscule scraps a mere three feet from his head.

"Don't hurt him."

"What the bloody hell are you doing Hermione?" Ron growled. Harry was staring at her suspiciously.

"If you are going to hurt them, you are going to have to hurt me first."

"Why are you protecting them?" Harry asked quietly.

"I was thinking the exact same thing Potter." Malfoy drawled from behind her. She glanced backwards and wasn't surprised to see the mild look of shock upon the two Slytherin's faces. She looked back at her two friends. Probably soon to be ex-friends.

"If you hurt them, you are just as bad as they are. Do you want to be like that?"

"If you would answer my question then I would believe that Hermione. I'm starting to think you're forming some kind of allegiance with those two." Harry said. "Don't you remember all of the things they've done? All of the things they've said about you? About me and Ron?"

She teared up a little bit, but held firm. "I understand much better than you think I do Harry. But I will not let you hurt them." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before continuing. "I...I want you both to leave. I will be alright."

Harry's defiance was completely written across his face. "Leave? Not without you. We came to save you Hermione!"

"You bastards did something to her! What did you do?" Ron pointed his wand around her.

Hermione's temper flared. "Why don't you listen to me!" She shoved him backwards. You both just assume that I am lying to you. And yes Harry I know you think I'm lying to you too. Ever think maybe I don't need to tell you both everything?"

"When it's this big then you do need to tell us," stated Harry, trying to be reasonable. "For all we know you could be siding with them. I know the real you would never do that. But maybe they did something to you. Something you don't even know was done. You need to let us protect you."

"You need to leave. Right now."

"No." They both said firmly.

Hermione pulled out her wand and aimed it at Harry's chest. "Don't make me use this against you. You know that I can." She shifted to point her wand at Ron. "Both of you. Leave."

Ron's face was bright red. "Hermione. You're siding with them over us? We've been here for you all these years!"

"Don't pretend to understand my reasons Ronald. Just go."

The two Gryffindor boys slowly backed toward the door, never turning their backs on the distraught face of Hermione Granger, and the two smirking, surprisingly silent Slytherins. Once they were out the door, Harry stopped just short of closing it. "We won't forget this. You are no longer welcome in Gryffindor Tower Hermione. You'd better find somewhere else to stay, but I pray for your sake it's not with them." He finished with a glare at the two Slytherins. He knew deep in his heart that this was their doing. But there was nothing he could do. Nothing he could prove. Nothing that would make a difference. They were losing their best friend and there was no way they could fix it. He slammed the door shut, and their footsteps were heard echoing down the long dungeon hallway.

As soon as the echoes faded away Hermione fell to the ground in a heap. All her strength left her as she realized that now, she truly was alone. Before she hadn't been able to get help because of the spell. Now she couldn't even feel the support of their friendship buoying her spirits that little bit. Her ties to the Order were severed. Her friends were gone. The respect of the students and worse, her professors was shattered. All she had left tying her to the world were the two assholes who took it all from her in the first place.

Hermione heard footsteps slowly approaching, but she didn't care. They could do what they wanted. She had nothing left to lose. Her gaze rose to meet silver eyes that seemed to see right through her.

"Tell me why you defended us."

She lowered her eyes to the floor and was silent for a long time. When she finally spoke, it came out as barely a whisper. "If they hurt you, you would hurt me."

Draco was silent a few moments.

"Do you really think we would hurt you for whatever those two did?"

"Yes."

"You may be right. But now that you are no longer the beloved Gryffindor Princess, part of the Golden Trio, how are you going to keep living in Gryffindor Tower. Potter said you aren't allowed there anymore and the world knows that his word is law around here. What are you going to do?"

Hermione was silent a while as she thought about that. No one would let her stay with them. No one would trust her. No one would be there for her. The whole school was against her now that she was a traitor. Even the professors wouldn't help her. Who did that leave her with? And then the answer slowly came to her. She wasn't pleased with her only option, but it did take the blame off of her shoulders. She already felt guilty about throwing aside Harry and Ron's friendship. She didn't want any other decisions falling onto her shoulders now. And she knew that Harry wouldn't take away his decision until she answered his question. The one thing she wasn't allowed to answer. The biggest rule she was forced to follow by her captors. So finally she answered. "I will do whatever you say I should do."

She didn't look up, but she knew it as well as he did. They were starting to win.


	5. Chapter 5

Ok I am sorry again for the delay. School got really hectic, but I decided to make sure to get a chapter out today as a birthday present to myself, and you all! Please forgive me for taking so long, to try to make up for it, this is my longest chapter yet! Thank you all so much for the positive reviews I've gotten so far, please keep them coming!

Chapter 5

Draco motioned to Blaise and they both left. Hermione glanced up, confused. They hadn't said anything. What was she supposed to do? She needed to know what they wanted her to do. She stood there lost in her own jumbled thoughts for a few minutes, feeling the walls around her closing in. She had no where to stay. She had no one to talk to. She had nothing she could do. All she had was herself, and that wasn't saying a whole lot anymore.

After a while, the door slowly opened. Warily she turned to face the person entering the room, and was surprised to see it was Draco. He walked over to her and stared at her in silence. Hermione stared back into his face, searching for something. Anything. But he gave nothing away.

He grabbed her upper arm and walked swiftly out the door. And she followed him. He led them through dark hallways that seemed to wind in all directions. Finally he stopped at a seemingly empty stone wall. After stating the password, the stones rearranged themselves into a large doorway, and she silently followed him into what appeared to be the Slytherin common room. She shrank against his side as the Slytherins inside glanced up and narrowed their eyes. Some part of her mind noted that it was strange that she would feel safe with him, but it appeared her shaky trust was well-founded. One glance from Draco and the Slytherins quickly went back to their previous activities. Draco strode down a nearby hallway, gripping her arm even tighter. She didn't complain. There was something comforting in the way his grip proved he wanted to have her with him. No matter what his reasons were, he was the only one left who really wanted her presence.

They were apparently headed for the end of the hallway. There was a single door located right at the end that had the name "Malfoy" clearly embossed on its surface. Draco tapped his wand on the handle and it opened to show a lavish bedroom, with an enormous four-poster bed, draped in black satin sheets, and rich mahogany drawers and shelves. There was nothing in this room that was cheap in any way. As was expected of course. It did belonged to Draco.

"You will stay with me. I will not waste space by giving you your own bed. You will sleep on the floor or with me. You will sit with me through meals. You will attend your own classes. Notify a house elf to move your belongings here, but do not take up a lot of space. It should be like you are not even here. I am going to go ready myself for bed. You will remain in here."

Hermione heard everything he said, but made no motion to acknowledge him. Her eyes slid over the room slowly, taking in every inch of her new prison. Draco watched her carefully, waiting for a response, but the response never came.

"Granger. I didn't expect you to give up so easily." He said, and her gaze shot to his face.

Her voice came out hoarse. "What did you think would happen when you took everything from me?"

"I expected you to put up a fight and find a way out. I wanted a new challenge."

"You destroyed my life for a game?"

"No. I have a duty to the Dark Lord to get rid of spies. I was doing that duty. You were just in the wrong place."

"Why do you follow him? Voldemort is a half blood himself!"

"That is a lie! Don't speak ill of Him!"

"His name is Tom Riddle. His mother was a witch. His father was a mug-"

"SHUT UP!"

Hermione shrunk back, cowering against the wall behind her. Draco's face was flushed and his breathing was heavy. Slowly he calmed down. "Even if what you say were true. Which I simply do not believe. My father would never fall for the lies of a Mudblood. It would not matter. He would kill my entire family for any disobedience. I will not let anything happen to my mother just because I couldn't follow an order."

About to retort, Hermione stopped. Finally she understood. And her thoughts flew in all directions with the new information. It wasn't the lack of love that drove the poor boy in front of her, but a strong love for his mother that kept him moving. That was something she could respect. It was also something she could work with.

"What is she like?" Hermione whispered.

Draco slowly sat down onto his bed and ran his hand through his hair. There was a pause and then he began to speak. "She is very intelligent and beautiful. She loves reading and gardening. My mother used to love to host parties and make everyone around her happy, especially me. She has never treated me with anything other than love and she has a soft spot for everyone. My father calls her weak. She would probably be as far away from the Dark Lord as she could if she didn't have the duty to our family, but if anyone knew that, she would be killed. My father...my father tries to...convince her to change her views. It's making her very thin and very quiet. She is a shadow of who she used to be. I wish I could do something to make her happy again. But all I can do is keep her alive."

There was fatigue and sadness in him that Hermione had never seen before. She could see how conflicted he was. His absolute trust and faith in his father who had been a god in Draco's eyes for so long was warring with his love for his mother. She couldn't fathom what it must be like knowing that your own role model was torturing your mother every single day. He must be slowly coming to see how evil his father was, but not understanding how the "perfect man" could be so flawed. Hermione felt the strongest urge to comfort him. To tell him everything would turn out. To help him save his mother. But before she had done anything, Draco jumped to his feet and swept out of the room.

* * *

Three days passed with no mention of what had transpired that night. Hermione was starting to believe it had been some strange dream. The only thing that changed was the way Malfoy treated her. He tiptoed around her like he was ashamed of himself. Maybe he was uncomfortable with showing any emotion to her at all. Blaise's day of control passed without a single order which was taken as a very bad sign. He must be concocting some terrible plan to carry out the following week. It was odd, but the only ones who were treating her poorly were her former friends. Ron especially seemed to be convincing everyone to avoid her like the plague, or even to mock her. The halls echoed with "Slytherin whore!" and "Traitor!" everywhere she went. Her teachers no longer called on her in classes. Their actions ranged from completely ignoring her existence, to stares of disappointment, to outright scathing remarks if she attempted to raise her hand in class. Surprisingly, her one place of solace was in Malfoy's room. She sat in silence, did her work, and slept. Today was almost the same.

Hermione had been asleep a while, having finished all of the possible work she could complete very early, but around midnight she suddenly woke up. It didn't take her long to find the reason why. Malfoy was moaning in his sleep. She sat up from her place on the floor, but she couldn't quite make out his face in the darkness.

"Malfoy!" she said, trying to wake him. "Malfoy!"

Finally she got to her feet and moved over beside the bed. She grabbed his shoulder and shook him slightly. Malfoy's eyes shot open and Hermione leaped backwards. The look of fury on his face was terrifying. When he stood, she knew it wasn't good. He stalked over to her trembling body and roughly grabbed her chin, forcing her face upward. "What the fuck were you doing? Trying to kill me in my sleep?" he yelled right in her face.

"No! No of cours-"

He backhanded her across the face. "Don't you dare lie to me bitch!"

Hermione's eyes began to well up with tears. Malfoy roughly grabbed her and then shoved her backwards into a table. A frame fell off, shattering around her feet.

"Now look what you did you clumsy whore!"

Shakily she moved to pick it up, leaning over. He pushed her down to her knees, grinding the broken glass into her skin. Blood started to pool around her legs. She watched it spreading as tears began rolling down her cheeks. She grabbed the broken frame before her blood damaged the picture and turned it over. It was a picture of a grinning young Draco, surrounded on both sides by his parents. She barely had glanced at it before it was snatched away from her. As he cast the cruciatus curse on her, she focused her mind onto that one smiling boy's face. The pain in her body was excruciating, but in her mind, all she saw were those grey eyes looking happily into the camera.

When the spell ended, she barely had control of her muscles. Slowly she lifted her head, and after taking a moment to catch her breath, she forced herself to speak. "You were having a nightmare." And the older version of that happy little boy stared down at her in solemn silence. She imagined what he must be seeing. There she was, tear-stained cheeks, swollen, red eyes, bruises already appearing all over her body, barely able to support herself, and blood now coming from gashes all over her body as she had writhed in the glass during the spell. She was as filthy as he grew up learning she was. But his reaction surprised her. He pointed his wand at her and began saying healing spell after healing spell until all that was left was the bruise from where he had grabbed her chin. He walked forward slowly, and lifted her to her feet.

"Thank you for waking me," he said, before completing the spell on the final bruise.

Hermione turned and knelt to the ground, quickly sweeping the bloody glass into her hand. He looked at her with an expression nearing amazement as she went to throw out the shards. Silently she moved to her bed on the floor as he sat in his own bed. His eyes followed her every movement. As he laid back and rolled onto his side, he spoke one more time. "Why don't you sleep up here for tonight."

Hermione turned her head slowly to look at him and then step-by-step made her way to the bed. Carefully she eased beneath the covers, making sure to stay as far from Malfoy as possible. She lay awake, listening as his breathing evened and he fell back asleep. This situation was getting more and more confusing. He attacked her one minute, then tried to make her comfortable. He was obviously moved by his mother's kindness to everyone, but he acted as his father did. He was way more complicated than she had ever realized, and part of her really wanted to figure him out.

* * *

The next day dawned quickly, but she woke up feeling much more comfortable than she had in a while thanks to her stay in the bed. There was no mention of the previous night, but she hadn't expected any. They both got ready for breakfast in silence and began the long trek to the Great Hall. Halfway there however, they were ambushed by Harry and Ron, and their focus was entirely on Hermione.

"So you do sleep with him you slut! I never expected you to stoop so low that you fucked that scum!" Ron shouted.

Hermione quickly glanced to Malfoy looking for any kind of order, but none came. He just looked at her and she knew it was up to her to deal with this problem. "Ronald, I have never had any form of sexual activity with anyone."

"Hermione," Harry growled, "we saw you in the Map last night. We know you're sleeping with that ferret."

"Thanks to you two I have nowhere else to go! I slept in his bed, yes. But did I have sexual intercourse with him, no."

Ron barely let her finish. "That's a load of bullocks! I bet you give it up to all of those nasty Slytherins whenever they want. You're disgusting!"

Then it was Harry's turn again. "I told you not to stay with him."

"You said you hoped I didn't for my sake! And you know what? He's been better to me than either of you these past few days! Who is the monster now? I can't believe I put up with you idiots as long as I did. You!" she said, turning to Ron, "never know when to keep your damn mouth shut! Who I choose to be around is my business, and you have no right to make judgements about things you do not understand. I am not and have never had sex with anyone! And you!" she continued, turning to Harry this time, "just because you are everybody's hero doesn't mean you can order everyone else around. You are not the perfect little savior everyone else thinks you are! You wouldn't have been able to do anything without me! ANYTHING! I helped you through the puzzles first year, helped you figure out the Chamber second year, I have solved everything for you every time and you just take it for granted! Sending me off to spy for you alone! I thought you were my best friend, looking out for me. But you don't care about anyone other than yourself and your 'oh so terrible life.' Screw both of you. I hope you find someone else to do your thinking and your dirty work for you, because I will never ever forget this." And with that, Hermione shoved past them and continued on her way to breakfast, nearly forgetting that Draco should be leading.

Then things happened very quickly. She heard bodies turn and the rush of air, and then someone yelling "protego" behind her. Spinning around, she gasped at what she saw. Ron angrily had his wand pointed at her, but the real surprise was Malfoy. He also had his wand pointed at her, but it had been him who had called out the spell to protect her. Right before her eyes she saw Ron go to switch his attack to Malfoy and before she could do anything, he had sent a hex flying toward Malfoy's face. A huge gash opened up across his forehead, but he barely flinched.

"Weasel you think that is going to cause me pain? You have no idea what I am able to deal with. Now run along with your Pothead and I'll go ahead and pretend none of this happened. Attacking a fellow student with her back turned. Tisk tisk. Only think what the professors would have to do." As he spoke, Hermione rushed to his side, wand out. Silently she healed the gash in his forehead and cleaned off the blood, before turning her wand threateningly on her two old best friends. She couldn't believe they had acted like this. There was no hope for them ever regaining trust in their judgement.

Draco smirked and put his arm around her waist, watching the two Gryffindors slowly back away. Fury was etched across both of their faces, but they were at least intelligent enough to understand the consequences if they didn't leave. They didn't turn their backs until they were disappearing around a corner.

As soon as they were gone, Hermione began fussing. "Why did you protect me? You should have just protected yourself! I can't believe they hurt you like that! You didn't do anything! You should have let them just curse me. It's my fault! All of it's my fault-"

"Granger stop. I'm hungry. We're going to breakfast." Draco said, removing his arm from her waist. She followed him silently, watching him out of the corner of her eye. Right before they entered the Great Hall he turned his head slightly toward her. "We are getting that damn map from them before this week is over."

A week ago Hermione would have been appalled at the idea of Draco Malfoy getting ahold of the Marauder's Map, but now she was all for it. Anything to get ahead of the assholes she used to call friends. It was starting to seem like they weren't as good as she always believed they were and maybe Malfoy wasn't as bad as she always believed he was. As they took their seats at the Slytherin table, Hermione was already constructing a plan in her mind. They didn't stand a chance.

That night when she told Draco that she could handle getting the map back, she expected him to want to know her plan. To question her. To maybe even forbid her from doing anything. But he did neither. He simply glanced up from his book, gave a slight nod, and went back to reading. She left the room a bit shocked, and then nervously went to begin setting the scene for her plan. She approached a nearby room and tentatively knocked on the door. A few minutes passed in silence as she anxiously read the nameplate over and over again. Finally the door creaked open.

"Well, well, well, so Draco finally let the Mudblood out to play."

"I...I need you to help me."

"With what exactly?"

"I need you to hurt me."

He grabbed her hair and dragged her into his room. "Interesting request. Why?"

Though she was gasping from the pain, she made sure to say the perfect words. "Re-revenge," He let up a little. "On Potter and Weasley."

He contemplated her words a moment before kneeing her in the stomach. "I'm interested in seeing this play out." He said as she doubled over in pain. "But you're going to pay for me helping you this Friday."

All she did was nod, and then spells began flying. She was thrown backwards into the door, and cuts sprung up all over her body. Soon there was no clear spot on her body, but he did not stop. As she began to black out from blood loss, he stopped.

"As much as I was enjoying this, I think I can wait until later to finish you off. I'd much rather see what you pull with the Golden Boys. Look forward to Friday. It will be a night you never forget." She tried to focus on his face, but he shoved her out the door and slammed it on her hand. She heard the crunch of broken bones, but through the pain everywhere else, she barely registered the new feeling. Gingerly she got to her feet and began walking away from the doorway. Glancing back to see her blood smeared across Zabini's nameplate, she began to laugh hysterically. Going to see the one man she feared the most these days to help her get revenge on her best friends. She could hardly believe this was real, but remembering Draco's voice yelling "protego" she steeled herself and limped down the hallway and out of the common room. She would make them pay for reducing her to this. Her mind replayed the image of Draco's blood running down his face. She would make them pay for hurting Draco. No matter what.


	6. Chapter 6

I'm sorry! My usual apology for being terrible about updating. This one was hard to write though. I really love reviews so PLEASE keep them coming! And as a warning, there is rape in this chapter. So be warned! Again, I'm sorry about the chapter delay, I'll try to get the next one up way faster!

* * *

Using her wand, Hermione kept the trail of blood off of the floor until she reached the Gryffindor Common Room. But once she had reached the entrance, she allowed her blood to flow freely. She smeared it over the stones of the flood, and on one of the walls. Silently, she cast a spell to mask the wounds all over her body and all of her blood. Once everything was hidden but her broken hand, she knocked on the Fat Lady's portrait. It was a first year who eased open the portrait and peered out.

"Get me Ronald Weasley please. Only him, understand?"

Wide-eyed at the sight of the outcasted Hermione Granger, the first year slammed the portrait closed. Her head swam as she waited for Ron to come outside. She leaned her forehead against the nearest wall, feeling her blood still running down her face beneath the spells. Finally, the portrait swung open and Ron came out with a suspicious look on his face.

"I...I didn't think you would come," she said shakily, straightening and moving toward the center of the hallway.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Ron growled, crossing his arms. "I don't want you here. Harry doesn't want you here. Go back to your precious Slytherin cave."

"It was all them! I couldn't control myself! I'm so sorry Ron. I only just got away from there. Please don't shove me away, you know me better than that."

"Why should I believe you?"

"I'm just asking your forgiveness! I can't prove anything to you. Please Ron!"

"I don't know...I think I should get Harry."

"No!" She yelled.

Ron pulled his wand out immediately. "Something isn't right here."

And she began smirking at him. "But Ron..." Hermione whispered in a sickly sweet voice as she drew her own wand.

"EXPELLIARMUS!" Ron yelled, but before her wand slid from her hand, Hermione released all her spells.

As she began sobbing, there Ron stood in shock at the sight before him, with her bloody wand in his hand. Hermione allowed herself to finally collapse to the ground as her vision began to blacken. But she forced the blackness back. She needed to see this all through.

"No Ron! Stop! Please!" She screamed out suddenly.

The portrait flew open and there stood Harry and a crowd of Gryffindors at his back, all of whom stared in shock at the scene before them. Hermione was covered in scrapes, gashes, and bruises and she lay in a huge puddle of her own blood. But to top it all off, there stood Ron holding Hermione's wand in his hand. A hand covered in blood. He had attacked her while she was defenseless again? "Ron...what have you done?" Harry said slowly, completely floored by what was obviously in front of him.

"I...don't..." Ron was too confused to know what to say.

"I just came for forgiveness." Hermione breathed, just barely loud enough for the front row of people straining to see through the portrait hole to hear. Those in the back immediately began whispering to each other, trying to figure out what she said.

"Fuck Ron. This is bad." Harry was panicking, but he quickly cast spells to clean up the area and levitated her body into the air. "Everyone. Back the bloody hell up!"

When very few people moved, Harry started shoving people out of the way, much to their annoyance, and quickly moved her through the portrait hole and towards the stairs. Ron followed him, still looking dazed.

"What are you doing Harry?" Ginny cried, coming forward from the back. "She needs to see Pomfrey now! She's losing too much blood."

"Shut up Ginny," he said in a harsh tone. Ginny reeled as though he had slapped her. "No one, and I mean none of you, are going to anyone. I will handle this." And with those final words, he hurried with Hermione floating along in front of him up the stairs.

They floated her straight up to their dormitory. Just as Hermione had hoped they'd do. She had her eyes shoot open as they set her down and she looked everywhere as though she were terrified. What they didn't understand was that she was organizing her surroundings in her mind. Nothing had changed since she'd been up there when things had all been normal. She found the trunk at the foot of Harry's bed. The place where the map had always been stored.

They didn't say anything to calm her, just stared for a minute. She was ready when Harry nudged Ron and they went outside the door arguing about what to do with her. Hermione leapt from the bed ignoring the pain that went shooting through her limbs. She had the map within moments and stuffed it into her shirt, leaving everything else where she had found it. Climbing back into her place on the bed, she waited.

Finally the two boys entered the room again. Harry looked directly into her eyes. Ron however, wouldn't even look in her direction. There was an incredible tension in the air. Days ago they had laughed together, been the best of friends, now anger and mistrust colored the air.

"Hermione, I don't know what you're doing here, or why. But I've talked to Ron, and I don't think he did this to you. For one, he doesn't even remember doing it."

"But then who did this to me Harry? I couldn't have done this to myself," Hermione whispered.

"I don't know and frankly I don't care." She looked up at him in shock at the harshness in his tone and his lack of feeling. "What I don't like is that you tried to pin it on Ron for whatever reason. I think you should just get out of here and we'll pretend this never happened."

"But Harry..."

"Go."

And so she left, slowly, shakily, reaching out and grabbing her wand from Harry's outstretched palm. Once through the door, she fled. Inwardly congratulating herself, Hermione went down the stairs and met the Common Room of stares. Making a perfect show of sobbing and hugging herself, she fled out of the portrait hole and straight into the arms of Madam Pomfrey.

"Oh my dear! What happened to you?" Madam Pomfrey cried out in alarm.

Taking advantage of the situation, Hermione continued crying onto Madam Pomfrey's shoulder. "Ron and Harry believe lies about me! I didn't do anything on purpose I swear! So I came to ask Ron to forgive me and he attacked me!"

* * *

"You poor child! When I was informed that someone was hurt I didn't imagine that it was his bad. I can't believe he did this too you! I'll fix you right up and Dumbledore will hear about this. Here, let's get you downstairs."

After just a few minutes with Madam Pomfrey, Hermione felt better than she had in a long time.

"Ms. Granger, you lost a lot of blood, I really must insist you stay overnight."

What would Draco think? She couldn't stay out overnight! "No, Madam, I'm sure I will be alright now. I just need to stay away from...from..."

"I already contacted Professor Dumbledore about those two dear. He'll deal with this problem right away I'm sure. But you need to stay here tonight."

As if on cue, Professor Dumbledore swept in, soon followed by Professor McGonnagal. The latter looked furious. But Dumbledore looked almost exactly as calm as he always did. But what Hermione saw in his eyes was unnerving. While she saw sadness, she also saw a glint of something else. She would have understood disappointment, annoyance, anger, disapproval, or a mix of all of them, but the look in his eyes was unidentifiable. She lowered her eyes to the bedsheets.

"Well Ms. Granger, I'm sorry to hear the state you've been in, but I am not surprised that this is where you have ended up. There are strange stories encircling Hogwarts about you currently. But what does surprise me is the current story. You asked Ron for forgiveness, not Harry? Ron left you in such a terrifying state in mere minutes? And he has no recollection of causing you any harm? But alas, I have never pegged you for a liar and there were witnesses. I have no choice but to punish them accordingly. But I must advise you to choose your allies carefully, but be careful of who you trust. Those you trust may be dangerous."

"Thank you sir," she whispered, still staring adamantly at the bed before her. She jumped when a door slammed. Looking up, she saw that McGonnagal had left the room and Dumbledore had paused near the doorway.

* * *

"And Ms. Granger, head back to your room, but do be careful. I believe you are going to be judt as important in your current role as you always have been to our cause. Stay strong."

Hermione left, and immediately realized her position. Right now she could leave. She could get away from Hogwarts. Away from Harry and Ron. Away from Draco and Blaise. Away from this mess and the fear and the pain. She could hide somewhere. Not with her family, but she could hide alone and no one would ever find her. She could survive on her own. Carefully she pulled out the Marauder's Map.

"I solemnly swear I am up to no good."

Lines bloomed in all directions. It was mesmerizing as usual, seeing the place she had always seen as her home away from home form before her eyes. Her eyes were drawn to Gryffindor tower as the dots of Harry and Ron popped into existence. She dragged her eyes away and they fell on another dot. It belonged to Draco, and it was right on top of some girl named Megan's dot. She could only imagine what was going on there. Dumbledore was in his office with Professor McGonnagal. Everyone was exactly where she expected they would be, and no one was between her and where she wanted to be.

Stuffing the map inside her shirt, she turned down the hallway to her right. Few portraits lined the walls this way, but their eyes followed her silently. Almost accusingly. She wasn't surprised. These were all ancient purebloods and probably viewed her as as much of an abomination as their descendants did, if not more so. She lowered her eyes from their hateful stares and continued on her way. Though she had never travelled this way before, she had seen this path on the map many times. It led to a hidden tunnel leading out of the castle.

When she arrived at a dead end, she stopped. Pulling out the map, she saw that the image had changed. Now there was an image of herself tapping 6 of the stones and then the words "Subturlabor ut libertas," in a bubble extending from her mouth. Hermione copied everything she saw to perfection. As soon as the last word exited her mouth, the wall split in the center. Fascinated, she watched as the solid stone wall began to fold like a set of blinds toward each side. Slowly she walked inside, and as soon as she was past what she could only term as the threshold of the newly exposed doorway, the walls began to fold closed again.

In a moment she was enclosed in darkness. She sighed as the weight of everything that had happened momentarily lifted from her shoulders. She lit a light at the end of her wand and examined her surroundings. She could tell that this tunnel was ancient, and that it hadn't been used for a very long time. Unfortunately, as she'd half expected, this was one of the tunnels that Fred and George had said was sealed and impassable. The area directly in front of her was sealed with both large and small stones that had obviously fallen when the roof of the tunnel had caved in. But that was ok. She just needed to wait here a few hours until everyone went to bed and then she could escape out of the front of the castle. Again she sighed, this time as she lowered herself to the ground. Exhausted, she allowed her eyes to close.

She had no idea how long she sat there, but when light began shining into her hiding place, her eyes shot open. Staring down at her was the last person she wanted to see right now.

"Well well well look who I found here. When my great great grandfather told me a mudblood had run down this hallway I didn't think it was you."

"I...I..." she stuttered, fear starting to build up within her.

"You made this too easy Granger. Do you know what time it is? What day it is?"

"N-no." But she knew and she scooted as far back against the rocks as she could.

Blaise smirked down at her and she knew what would happen. He grabbed her arm and dragged her to her feet before slamming her back into the stones of the wall. Hermione whimpered, feeling the cold hard stones dig into her spine. The feeling that proved there was no escape now. In trying to escape, she had insured that there was no one who could save her, and so she withdrew within herself as Blaise began running his hands down her body.

His hands grabbed the hem of her tattered blouse and he tore it apart. The buttons flew in all directions. Hermione didn't fight him. She knew it was inevitable and that thought alone nearly made her gag. His hands slid beneath her bra, and he violently pinched her nipples. Gasping at the pain, Hermione arched forward. Twisting his hand, he grabbed the center of her bra and yanked it off of her body. The back snapped apart, the hooks scraping her skin. She attempted to cover her breasts from his sight as she was exposed to him, but of course he wouldn't allow that. His nails dug into her wrists as he dragged her arms above her head. He began to kiss along her jawline.

Hermione couldn't help but remember the first time he had kissed her, back on the first day this mess had all started. With the thought of that kiss in her head, she felt a heat begin to build within her stomach. A heat that brought feelings of shame and disgust. Hermione angled her head as far from Blaise as she could, but he didn't stop. His lips trailed down her throat and then back up. She sighed as her body reacted to the feelings he was causing.

"You're enjoying this aren't you," Blaise whispered into his ear. He paused. "Answer me!"

Hermione slightly nodded her head.

"Well we can't have that now, can we?" He lightly bit her earlobe and she couldn't contain a quiet moan, but she cried out when he bit down harder. Letting go with one of his hands, he pulled out his wand and bound her hands together above her head. With his hands completely free now, he reached up her skirt and dragged her underwear down to her knees and then tore those off of her body as well. She closed her eyes a he shoved himself inside of her, but she wasn't able to hold in a whimper of pain.

"Fuck Granger, I haven't fucked a virgin in so long," he said as he continued thrusting into her, ignoring her obvious pain. He drove into her with more and more force, ramming her back into the wall behind her. She could feel the bruises already forming. There was no enjoyment now. There was not even a little bit of a response from her body. She felt as though he was slowly tearing her apart. She wanted to scream, but she didn't want to give him the satisfaction.

It was as though he read her mind. "Scream for me to stop," Blaise practically growled at her. "Bitch I want you to beg."

And the screams rose from her throat and echoed back at her in the short tunnel. Once she began screaming she couldn't stop. All of her pain, all of her frustration, everything came out with it. And though he still had her hands bound, she started to struggle. She kicked out toward him. Anything to get him off of her. Blaise's hand immediately struck her across the face, hard. Hermione's face stung with the impact, but she didn't stop struggling. To her horror, Blaise seemed to enjoy it more the more she fought him. But after a few minutes, he seemed to tire of it.

"Stop."

Hermione froze.

"Lay on your back and spread your legs."

Of course she had to comply, but it was humiliating, and as he got on top of her she again closed her eyes.

"Open your eyes and watch me shove my cock into you again and again. Moan for me like the whore you really are Granger. I know you enjoy me hurting you. You enjoy the pain."

* * *

Much later, Hermione limped back to Draco's room, clutching at her clothes that were now completely in tatters and grasping the map in her bruised fist. Tear stains ran down her cheeks and she was shaking like a leaf. Draco woke up when she entered the room and watched silently as she laid the map at the foot of his bed and as she curled up into a tight ball on her bed on the floor. She knew he watched her as she began quietly sobbing into the pillow and she knew he saw the blood and bruises and even the few remaining rocks ground into her back. But he said nothing.

Hermione heard the crinkling of paper as he picked up the Marauder's Map. She was sure he was looking puzzled at the blank piece of parchment. But she didn't care. If she had glanced back, she might have seen Draco look at her as though a ghost had entered the room before he avoided looking at her altogether. But she fell asleep with her back to him, and when she woke the next morning, her back was dirty, but healed, and Draco Malfoy was gone.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: I know this chapter has been a long time coming. It took me a long time and a lot of rewriting to get past the writers block I ran into. I know where I want this story to go, and finally I think it's on track to get there. For those of you who stuck with me, THANK YOU. Please let me know what you all think :)

Chapter 7

Hermione did not leave the room that day. For the first time in her school career, she intentionally skipped every single class. She didn't move from her position on her makeshift bed. She couldn't bring herself to unwrap her arms from around her legs. She couldn't bear to open her eyes, but keeping them shut was a worse torture. She couldn't erase him from the backs of her eyes.

She didn't know what time it was when Draco eased his way into the room. She only glanced up to determine that it wasn't the man who had haunted her all day, and then her eyes sank back to the floor. Finally a single tear leaked down her cheek, rolling down her face and dropping to the floor as if in slow motion.

Draco stared at her in complete silence. For the first time in his life he was truly conflicted. He knew that she was disgusting. That being a mudblood was unacceptable. That was not going to change. But looking at her, broken, alone, and hurt, all he saw was his mother. Narcissa Malfoy had looked exactly the same after one time when his father had come home intoxicated from a Death Eater celebration. He didn't know exactly what had occurred that night, but his mother had never been exactly the same. The dark circles beneath her eyes became a constant feature. Her beautiful blond hair has since hung limp beside her pale face. His mother's eyes seemed haunted, like they couldn't quite see past whatever memories attacked her thoughts.

And now this girl, this abomination, had that look in her eyes. He had seen it the moment that she had glanced up. He couldn't believe it, but it was stirring up the same protective feelings he had felt for his mother. The same defiance. The same hatred for whatever man caused this. And he knew who had done it. There was no doubt in his mind, and he wanted to retaliate. He wanted to defend her so much that he nearly shook with the emotion, but it was almost treason to defend a mudblood in any context. He couldn't do it. He couldn't betray his ideals like that.

"Granger," he finally said in the most stern voice he could muster. She didn't even flinch. "Granger," he repeated. She didn't move, but he knew she was listening now. "You need to try to forget about whatever happened." It didn't escape her notice that this was not an order. "You're a wreck. You need to leave this room tomorrow. Can't have you killing yourself." And with that final comment, she listened to him cross to his bed and slide beneath the silken sheets. Hermione listened as his breathing slowly evened out as he fell asleep. His breaths became her lifeline. _Inhale_. Another tear rolled down her cheek. _Exhale_. Tears began raining down to the floor unhindered. _Inhale. Exhale._ Silently Hermione began sobbing. Gasping for her own breaths. _Inhale. _Why? Why had this all had to happen to her? Why couldn't it have been someone else? Anyone else? _Exhale. Inhale._ She took a deep breath along with the sleeping man. Exhaling as he did. And then Dumbledore's words came back to her. 'Maybe all of my pain has a purpose,' she thought. 'Maybe something good can come out of this.'

As she tried desperately to hold on to that one positive thought, images of Blaise sprung up before her eyes. Hermione nearly shrieked aloud. His grunts, his smells, his body again flooded her senses. It was as though it were happening all over again. Sweat coated her body as her mind relived the feeling of him thrusting into her over and over. "Please stop," her own hoarse voice whispered. But her mind continued her agony. Forcing her to recreate every single detail. The shape of the rough stones beneath her body. The way her eyes grew accustomed to the darkness slowly, revealing the shadowy face of her captor. The smallest of pulls in the threads of his shirt. The feeling of each cut opening. Each bruise forming. The slickness of her own blood against her palms. Every portion of the memory as clear as though it were happening that very moment. "Please!" she moaned quietly.

Unbeknownst to the distraught, tortured girl, Draco stirred at the sound of her voice. He lay awake staring blankly into the darkness, listening to her anguish. He was unable to block out her pain. Unable to rationalize it as the sounds of a filthy mudblood. Instead he heard the moaning of a young woman in a mental hell. But what could he do? He hadn't been raised to know how to comfort the weak! And so long after the exhausted girl finally, mercifully passed out into a fitful sleep, Draco Malfoy lay awake conflicted.

* * *

The next morning when he woke up, the first thing he noticed was that Hermione was no longer in his room. He got ready for class and headed toward the Great Hall for breakfast. Nearing a corner, he began to hear raised voices and he slowed his pace to a stop.

"Didn't see you at all yesterday Hermione. Fucking them is getting in the way of schoolwork now?" Ron Weasley's voice came echoing down toward him.

Her sharp intake of breath was enough for the redhead. "You _were_ fucking them!" Then his volume dropped so much that Draco had to strain to hear him. "You enjoy being the Slytherin whore. Feeling their slimy bodies all over you. _Inside _of you. You disgust me. I wish I'd actually beaten the shit out of you like that. You deserve it."

After hearing something hit the wall, and listening to Weasley's retreating footsteps, Draco finally emerged. Hermione sat on the floor against the stone wall, sobbing. The protective feeling roared back to life in his chest. He wanted to crush Weasley for this. As he approached the distraught girl, her sobs quieted. She didn't look up as he stopped beside her.

"Can't you ever just go away?"

Draco was shocked. She hadn't spoken back in what seemed like forever. Maybe this girl was stronger than he had thought. Without saying a word, he turned his back on her and left her alone. He hadn't really known what he was going to say or do anyways. This was probably for the best.

He arrived at the Great Hall to the usual scene. Potter and Weasley glaring at him from the opposite side of the room. His usual seat remained open between Blaise and Pansy. Out of habit, he sat, grabbed his pastries, eggs, sausage and pumpkin juice. He began eating without thinking when suddenly his eagle owl dropped down in front of him. Apprehensively he unrolled the scroll and fed a small piece of sausage to his owl. Blaise and Pansy watched him closely for any signs of the scrolls contents, but to any outside observer, he didn't so much as blink. Calmly, he pulled out a quill, scratched down a few words, rerolled the scroll, and attached it back to his owl's leg. All three watched the bird rise into the air and out a nearby window.

The three Slytherin's grabbed their belongings and got to their feet. "Next Hogsmeade weekend looks like I'm going to be in for some fun." Draco said nonchalantly as they headed toward their first class of the day.

* * *

It had taken almost a week for her to attempt to leave the room again. Hermione received a lot of extra work for her absence from classes, but all except for McGonnagal accepted her excuse that she had been ill without too much questioning. McGonnagal however seemed to have developed a distinct dislike for her former star pupil. She was promptly given two weeks detention to be fulfilled with Filch. Hermione actually appreciated the extra work and detentions. It gave her something to keep her mind busy as she built up a wall against the memory.

The next two weeks passed altogether uneventfully. She completed all of her extra work in a staggering two days, putting her back in the good graces of the majority of her teachers, and at the end of her string of detentions, McGonnagal was forced to begrudgingly accept that Hermione had done her time without so much as a complaint. (Although the professor was secretly saddened that the young woman hadn't quoted the clause in the rules of Hogwarts that allowed students up to one week to self medicate an illness. It was further proof that her old Hermione Granger was now simply a shadow of her old fiery, knowledgeable personality. )

There had been no new developments with Hermione and her old friends. In fact, no one even noticed her existence anymore. The teachers had long since stopped their sad expectant glances hoping for her obnoxious know-it-all hand waving. According to Draco's suspicious mutterings, Harry and Ron had actually been frequenting the library. Hermione could only assume they were looking for any kind of information they could find that could help them against Voldemort. She doubted that they were there today, as it was finally a Hogsmeade weekend. Nothing could keep those boys in a library.

For a moment, her thoughts brought her back to how things used to be. The annoying but oddly loveable Ron, who though he got easily angered, was fiercely loyal and recklessly brave. And then Harry. Her best friend. The boy who had saved her life countless times. She had thought that it would always be the ridiculously named "Golden Trio" and that they would be by each other's sides until death tore them apart kicking and screaming. It saddened her that this war that could so easily bring the three of them together, could so easily shred everything that they had created. She knew they needed her to succeed. She wasn't sure she had the strength or the will to oppose her captors like that anymore. After everything, how could anyone expect her to continue fighting?

Draco's tense, angry voice broke her from her train of thoughts as she sat in her usual place atop her makeshift bed. "Granger. Meet me in Hogsmeade in the alleyway second from the path leading to the Shrieking Shack by quarter past 10. Do not be seen. If you screw that up, you will wish you were dead. I swear on my mother's soul." And with that he slammed from the bedroom, his robes cracking like a whip behind him. Hermione stared at the door where the man had disappeared, slightly shocked. He hadn't spoken to her like that since before…her ordeal. She had noticed the darkening circles underneath his eyes, and the weight he now seemed to carry on his shoulders. This must be something to do with that, and that made her scared. What was going to happen in that alley this morning? Close to the Shrieking Shack meant they were in the middle of nowhere. Anything could happen to her and no one would be able to stop it or to even be aware something was happening.

But alas, an order was an order. It wasn't as though she could resist it in the end. Even the thought of resistance made sweat break out across her forehead. She could feel an invisible collar closing around her throat and pin pricks beginning all over her arms. Shaking her head, she began to plan how to arrive at the meeting place unseen. Immediately the feelings began to fade. Apparently his annoyance merely strengthened the power of this order. She certainly wasn't going to disobey him this time. The spell might cause her serious injuries if she even considered it.

Her plan ended up being quite simple. The lack of attention she received from the school body these days was actually going to work in her favor. The only two she needed to avoid were Harry, Ron, and Ginny, and those three would never leave before 9. Glancing up at the clock, Hermione spotted that she was exactly on schedule. She grabbed her wand and threw on a pair of jeans and a sweater. As a last minute decision, she snatched her robes and put those on as well. Opting against exiting the castle from the front door, Hermione made her way quickly through the now familiar dungeons and out a side entrance set off the beaten path. She took a very wide track around the castle grounds and neared the road to Hogsmeade from the side closest the Forbidden Forest.

Careful to not drag attention to herself, Hermione stepped out among the slow, steady stream of students out for an early start to their weekend. Everything seemed to be going according to plan. And that's when she noticed a recognizable girl's voice coming up behind her. Ginny and a few other Gryffindor girls from that year had apparently decided to do some early Christmas shopping if their giggling voices were to be understood. Hermione picked up the pace the slightest bit, but was too late. The giggling stopped.

"Is that who I think it is?" she heard Ginny growl somewhere behind her. Luckily there was a group of Hufflepuffs right beside her and Hermione quickly sidestepped in front of them. Grabbing her wand in her robe pocket, a string of mumbled words began to flow from her mouth. Almost immediately her hair began to straighten and turn black. She felt a body push against her as Ginny shoved her way through the group. As a last precaution, boils erupted all over her face just as Ginny looked straight at her.

"Oh I'm sorry." Ginny said with a grimace. "I could have sworn I saw Granger right here. I guess I'm seeing things." With a few last apologies to the disgruntled Hufflepuffs, Ginny returned to her own friends a few steps behind.

Shaken by the close call, Hermione decided she would have to step it up. Harry would never have fallen for that trick so easily, and if Ginny was already out, who knew if the boys would be coming soon. As she and the Hufflepuffs rounded a turn, Hermione dropped back into the trees. After removing the boils and returning her hair to normal, she slowly began working her way through the complicated Disillusionment charm. She wouldn't quite be invisible, but it should be enough to go unnoticed in the hustle and bustle of Hogsmeade. Instead of rejoining the road, she picked her way along the edge of the forest. Hiding amongst the shadows of the trees would be much easier.

Her choice turned out to be for the best. As she neared the outskirts of the village Harry and Ron came lumbering up the road. They were their usual selves, just as she remembered them. Ron was complaining loudly about a Quidditch match and Harry listened on with a decent amount of interest while still scanning his surroundings. Her heart skipped a beat when his eyes seemed to linger a half second longer on her hiding spot amongst the trees and bushes, but they moved on entering the town heading in the direction of Zonko's Joke Shop. Their usual first stop. Luckily she was headed the other direction and soon she was alone, walking the empty streets of the run-down portion of town. Before she knew it, she had passed the end of town and was forced to backtrack.

Draco was already there, leaning nonchalantly against a wall. She saw him stiffen as the noise of her footsteps echoed down the alley. For a moment she watched him slowly scanning back and forth, looking for any sign of whatever had caused the sound, but as she was running short on time and she didn't want to make whatever was going to happen here any worse, she carefully undid the charm hiding her from view. Seeing that the hidden entity was in fact her, he let out a breath she hadn't noticed he was holding. Without a word, he shoved himself off the wall and walked toward her. He pulled out his wand and she gasped. Closing her eyes, she waited for the inevitable curses to begin. Seeing her reaction, he laughed. Shocked, she opened her eyes again only to see him smirking at her with a scary look in his eyes.

"It's not me you should be afraid of Granger," he said as he grabbed her elbow and apparated them both away.

Her feet landed on a thick rug in a very ornate sitting room. Hermione stumbled, not prepared for the sudden transportation. Her hand landed on the nearby couch. Its frame was built from some exotic material she had never seen before. Slowly she looked up, straight at the portrait of a regal looking blond woman dressed impeccably with every hair in place. Hermione had seen this woman before, and immediately she knew where she was. She let go of the couch as though she had been burned. Of all of the things she had been expecting, going to Malfoy Manor had definitely not been on the list.

Again Draco grabbed her elbow, this time steering her out of the sitting room and down a large marble hallway. He stopped before a huge oaken double door, stepping a few feet away from her. "It's them." He said as the doors swung open.

Revealed before her eyes was her worst nightmare come true. The large dining room was entirely packed with Death Eaters. Only twenty were allowed the honor to sit at the table. None of these twenty wore their masks. She knew more of them than she had ever hoped to. Some she had had to fight in years past. Others she knew of simply from Harry's descriptions. Masked and unmasked, each and every one turned to look at the noise of the doors opening. Growls stirred from many throats as they saw the two figures standing at the door. She knew that the hatred was completely aimed at her direction. Not only was she a filthy mudblood, but she was – at least to their eyes – a best friend to Harry Potter. The boy who had thwarted their master's every attempt in this war. A fighter in her own right against their desired blood purity. Only Harry or Dumbledore would receive a worse welcome.

Finally, after she had looked at every other person at the table, there was nowhere else for her eyes to go. There at the opposite end of the table sat the leader of all of these monsters, Lord Voldemort. His pale face was the most terrifying she had ever seen. His nose was merely slits in the middle of his face, and his eyes, more red than any man's should be, haunted her more than anything. Those eyes paused a moment on Draco before staring straight into her own, and it was at that moment that she truly believed, she would never get out of here alive.


	8. Chapter 8

FINALLY! Finally my writer's block is gone. I can't tell you guys how hard this was to write or how many times I sat down to try and get it out of me. But I think I finally have it! Which means if I get enough reviews - which i totally don't deserve because I take so long to post - I might post again THIS WEEK. If you've stuck around with me this long, I love you. If you're just starting with me, I love you too. Let me know if you like it/don't like it, anything at all :)

Chapter 8

The growls abruptly cut off at a nearly imperceptible narrowing of the eyes from the Dark Lord. The silence was worse. It grew to a clamor in her ears and her terror grew. It seemed to go on endlessly. Her heart almost stopped as a smirk bloomed on the pale face before her.

"Ms. Granger, how nice of you to join us this morning. How interesting that you walk in here of your own will." Snickers broke out around the room. "Mr. Malfoy, I am impressed. This was far above the skill level I had seen in you. That you even knew such a spell…Perhaps I shall have further use of you yet." His eyes shifted over her form. She sucked in a quick breath and shut her eyes against the evil in front of her.

But his eyes were burned into the back of her eyelids. She couldn't escape them. Nor could she escape his voice as he decided her fate. The Dark Lord listened as his followers inserted their unimportant opinions. Mr. Malfoy wasn't so sure she could be trusted. Bellatrix Lestrange didn't think keeping her alive and using her was better than killing her and using her mangled body as a message. Avery was thinking they should lock her up and keep her for use later. The majority just smirked at her, and their faces were saying that they were looking forward to whatever torture was brought down on her slight frame. She knew each of them by their voices. She wasn't sure she could ever forget them after that awful night in the Department of Mysteries.

She thought back to that day and everything that had happened. So many of her friends had been in danger. They had lost Sirius. Back then she had looked them in the eyes. She had fought them. The smallest spark of defiance lit in her stomach. Hermione opened her eyes and looked around the room into the faces of her would-be executioners.

Suddenly everyone went silent. Her eyes shot to the white face at the head of the table. She hadn't seen the Dark Lord move, but he must have given some kind of signal. He had his wand held in his hand, rotating it slowly, eyes fixed on the grooves and crevasses. The movement was graceful, as though the wand were part of the man's body. He was made for this, she realized then. Every part of him exuded wizardry and magic. The Dark Lord may be evil and even half-blooded, but she could understand why he was viewed as the leader for magical purity. Comparing him to the awkwardness of first years that have come from non-magical families was impossible. Almost painful to envision.

The spinning wand stopped and the red eyes glided back to her. Something told her to lower her eyes. "Hermione Granger. You have been the brains behind Harry Potter for years now. I believe you are quite finished with your schooling. It is quite time you changed allegiances. We have uses for Mudbloods like you."

A low hiss followed that statement from the surrounding Death Eaters. She saw the shadow of his wand flicking again. Hermione jumped as someone screamed on the left side of the room. The hissing ceased immediately. "Of course we can't send you on any missions alone just yet. But just think of the damage it would do to the Order to see their precious princess not only has dropped out of school, but also is openly in attendance at our rallies. At our missions. They will hesitate to attack her. Their hesitation will kill them."

Tears filled Hermione's eyes. "I can't," she breathed.

She felt, more than saw, Draco tense beside her. The silence that followed her barely perceptible voice was palpable.

"Ah and her Gryffindor stupidity finally rears its ugly head. I had almost been disappointed. Repeat what you said for the room to hear Mudblood."

The amusement in the Dark Lord's voice was more terrifying than malice, but she forced herself to speak in as strong and steady a voice as she could muster. "I can't do that to them. I won't."

"You dare defy the Dark Lord! I will-"

"Bellatrix, silence. Ms. Granger, I believe you will find that we can be most persuasive if you disobey orders. Make no mistake, you will do as I say."

There were no arguments left to make. She knew that he wasn't bluffing. She knew she wasn't strong enough. All she had left was to pray that someone decided to save her. But even then, this curse had no end. She would be tortured for disobeying Draco. She would have to return just to survive. There was no way out unless the Order and Harry won and killed everyone within this room. There was a sharp stab in her abdomen. Unexpected and piercing. Further reminder that this curse would destroy her for plotting against her captor.

An eternity later the talks began to subside. An attack was planned in one week's time. Until then she was to be kept in Malfoy Manor – much to Lucius's scarcely masked dismay, though of course all of the necessary "It would be my honor to serve you My Lord" niceties filled the air. And so she found herself being escorted down three hallways, up four flights of stairs, down two more hallways and into the smallest, bleakest bedroom the family could muster. Which meant of course that the bedroom was twice the size of her Gryffindor dormitory with finer bed sheets than she had ever seen in her life and a bathroom fit for kings.

Really the only sign that this was her prison were the various spells lain by Lucius Malfoy himself to prevent her from committing suicide – though as he muttered, "The world would rejoice one fewer Mudblood befouling the air and breeding halfblood mongrels." With a few flicks of his wand bars were installed over the windows, the mobile furniture became immobile, and from what she gathered, the bathroom was set to sound an alarm if she stopped moving for some set amount of time to alert someone if she were to drown herself. It all was intriguing to her, as suicide hadn't even crossed her mind as a viable escape option.

It was also a bit impressive. It showed first-hand how committed the Death Eaters were. Here was a notorious hater of all things Mudblood trying to come up with every way to ensure that a Mudblood would stay alive. Nothing was allowed to interrupt their plans. They tried to determine every possible thing that could go wrong and prevent it. It was so organized. So calculated. So perfect. Everything that Hermione sought in life and everything the Order of the Phoenix was not. How could her friends defeat this well-oiled machine of murderers and sadists? Maybe they weren't meant to.


	9. Chapter 9

AN: Now I never respond to reviews, because personally, as a reader I hate when there is a huge block of responses at the top, (actually I take it as a sign of unprofessionalism) but I'm going to break my own rule this chapter.

To all of my positive reviewers and story favoriters, THANK YOU. I notice every single one, and each one pushes me to get the next chapter out. I promise you, I've been trying to get this one out for a long time, but trying to graduate college, and some writers block has had me very stalled. ANYWAYS, please please please bear with me, keep reviewing, I really appreciate it.

I've only had a couple of negative reviews, but they all have said the same sort of thing, so I will finally respond to those reviews. A few people are VERY unhappy with the OOC-ness of some of my characters. First, I am aware of what I am doing. I know that Harry and Ron are not evil and wouldn't drop Hermione like that, BUT to further my plotline, I had to get them out of the picture, and they're characteristic badgering, hero selves would never let that happen. Also, Blaise Zabini has gotten some complaints about me making him too evil. My explanation there is simple. The actual book has very little about him as a character, to the point that some fanfic authors even mistakenly thought he was a she for a while. So I am using my own judgment on how evil or not evil to write him, and in this case, I chose very evil. Then most importantly, Hermione. She most certainly has been written to appear "idiotic" and "weak" because she is going through a terrible situation with no control over her own life. She experiences pain when she thinks of betrayal. That would condition even the strongest mind into submission after a time (see Wikipedia for Operant Conditioning or B.F. Skinner). Maybe I wrote that conditioning too fast, but chapter after chapter of her in constant pain due to her thoughts would be tedious. NOT TO MENTION, who said anything about her staying that way ;)

Now enough of my rambles! Finally another chapter! Please read and review

* * *

Chapter 9

Lucius finished laying all of the spells without glancing in her direction a single time. No words were spoken to her. The occasional heavy sighs were the only reminder of his disdain for having a filthy mudblood in his home. He didn't stay a moment longer than necessary. Moments after the final spell was cast his robes were swishing out of sight beyond the door. Quietly the door shut on its own and she was left alone.

Hermione looked around at her surroundings for the first time unattended. The floors were a dark mahogany. The walls a white color with off-white, shimmering couples in ballroom regalia waltzing slowly from wall to wall. Occasionally one couple would do a more elaborate move. It was quite entrancing to watch, almost making her feel less alone.

Moving her attentions to the furnishings of her prison, the wardrobe located beside the door to the bathroom, though massive, was completely empty. Across the room from the bathroom door was the four-poster bed. It's sheets were such a dark blue they almost appeared to be black except for the slight sheen that the silk gave off under the dim lighting. Of course the Malfoy's were wealthy enough to have silken sheets even in their worst rooms. She couldn't bring herself to actually sit on the bed itself and rumple the pristine bedcovers, so she slowly sat on the trunk at the end of the bed to absentmindedly watch the dancers as she thought through her predicament.

As she had already noted, the Death Eaters were much more detail oriented than the ragtag group that she was used to following. This was even more disheartening, not that she had much hope left anyways. What was worse, knowing how close to perfectionism this cult appeared to be, she knew that her orders would be too exact for her to be able to disobey. She would be forced to help them destroy the people she loved. To fight against her very own people, all the Mudbloods in the world. She knew what it would do to the cause to see one of Harry Potter's inner circle switch sides and fighting alongside the enemy. Especially with everyone knowing she was the brain behind the cause. There would be confusion, possibly some distrust and warring within the Order. It would be the end of it all.

And now she understood why the Death Eaters had put so many spells in place to prevent her from killing herself. Voldemort knew she was smart enough to reach this conclusion. That her death would be better for the Order. It would prevent them from using her to destroy the Order from the inside out and might even cause a resurgence of strength if she were to be viewed as a martyr for the cause. What the Death Eater's hadn't realized is that they didn't need to worry. Her own sense of self-preservation vastly outweighed her sense of saintly morality. She was no Harry Potter, willing to throw herself headfirst into deadly situations for the sake of everyone else. Sure if there was a logical path to victory, she would try her hardest, like she did in first year with the Sorcerer's Stone, and many other times since. But she was no martyr by any means.

She would just have to think of another way out.

* * *

After arriving back in his dormitory, Draco let out a long sigh. In a very undignified manner, he fell backwards onto his four-poster bed. He could hardly believe that he had gotten through the meeting unscathed. Being the center of attention at a Death Eater meeting was not something to be excited about. It usually meant torture, or worse.

Gazing at the spot that had been Granger's bed. He wondered what they would do to her now that she was kept in the Manor. He was the one controlling her. What did they gain by taking her from him? Granger belonged to him. It wasn't right. He had placed the spell. He should get to do with her as he pleased. Who was the Dark Lord to take her away?!

At that final thought, Draco shot up in his bed. That thought was too dangerous. Deadly even. It could get his entire family killed. The Dark Lord could take what he wanted. Do what he wanted. But what had happened to the power of the Malfoy name? Why were they all bowing to a single man? Why were they bowing to anyone at all? They were one of the oldest, purest bloodlines left. Not to mention the sheer wealth behind the Malfoy name. He shook his head to clear the confusion this line of questioning had brought upon him. No, the Malfoys would be behind the Dark Lord, ensuring that purebloods _stayed_ in power. But at what cost?

* * *

Hermione had been in that room for two weeks. Two full weeks and nothing had happened. An ancient house elf named Gemini popped in every few hours to give her food during the day. Food that was "rubbish" and "a disgrace to be served in such an honorable home", though to Hermione, it was a veritable feast each and every meal. There were foods that she had never even dreamed of, and Hermione just could not believe that this was "rubbish". If this food was rubbish, what delicacies were the family eating?

Today when Gemini popped in for the first time, the exchange began as per normal.

"G'day miss, I've got your breakfast here. Oh but where is the fork?"

"Good morning Gemini. It's right there next to the plate. Thank you for the food. I wish you didn't have to bring it all this way yourself."

"Miss, it is my duty to serve the Malfoys, and they have asked me to ensure your survival in this room. Oh but how awful this room is. The colors are all wrong. And this trunk, completely crooked." The house elf gave it a kick, effectively misaligning it from its straight position at the end of the bed.

Hermione eyed the elderly house elf with bemusement. "And how lucky I am. How long have I survived so far?"

"Fourteen days, 9 hours, 37 minutes miss."

"Any word on when I'll be let out?" This question was asked daily, though there was never any hint at an answer. This time, Gemini surprised her.

"Oh yes. Master Malfoy told me to inform you that your presence will be required this evening. I'd meant to tell you straight away, but I had almost forgotten your tea in the kettle. Breakfast is not breakfast without tea, you see ducky-"

"This evening!"

"Oh yes, yes, right. This evening, there will be another meeting of all of the most honorable families down in the formal dining hall. The Dark Lord wishes to use you as entertainment, so I am to get you dressed and ready. It's unsavory, using a young lady as entertainment. Turning you into a right scarlet woman, but I am sure there is a reason." Suddenly Gemini looked her straight in the eye. "Are you a slag already? That would explain it."

"No!" Hermione cried adamantly, while terror at the evening before her began to well up in her stomach. She wished she hadn't asked. Now all day she would have to sit and imagine the tortures they would instill upon her. There was nothing but evil thoughts to keep her company. But! But maybe a change would allow her to learn her window of opportunity. What that opportunity was, she had no idea. She knew she couldn't betray Draco, but perhaps there was something else she could do, some way to stop the Death Eaters from using her to destroy the Order. There had to be something, she just couldn't figure it out yet.

Looking up, she saw that Gemini had left the tray of food and had disappeared. She must have spaced out for longer than she had realized. Absent mindedly, she began to nibble on some of the food.

There had been one positive aspect of becoming a prisoner – other than the step up in the luxury of her lifestyle. She had only time to think. It had allowed her to come to terms with her rape and her enslavement. Shaky as the wall was, she was no longer teetering at the edge of an emotional cliff. Not that she had regained any hope in her situation. At this moment she could see no way out. But she was able to marginally handle the situation. The thoughts of tonight were pushing at the cracks in that wall though, and throughout that day - arguably the longest day of Hermione's life – all she could see were evil eyes, all she could feel were hands forcing her legs apart, all she could taste was her own blood. Deep breaths only went so far toward keeping her calm, because there was no plan. There was no way to escape whatever was going to happen to her tonight. She could do nothing. Or maybe…maybe absence was doing something. She vaguely remembered a book she had read in which the heroine had overcome torture by locking herself away within her mind. Maybe she could separate herself from the pain. If only she could learn how to do that.

Gemini's evening arrival was both all too soon and agonizingly delayed. There was an entirely too small pile of clothes in Gemini's arms, and to her humiliation, Hermione was forced to strip down and put on these garments. Almost humorously, the underwear and bra were in Slytherin colors, strictly lace, and completely see-through. The bra barely contained her breasts. In fact, she was fairly certain that the bra wouldn't survive long with the strain her breasts put on the small patch of material. Next came another entirely lace garment. This however was a black slip. It covered very little, due to the transparency of the lace, but it was a small comfort. Finally there came a dress. A gorgeous dress surprisingly. In truth it also covered very little, with a severe v-cut down the front showing half of each breast, a length that barely skimmed her knee on one side and barely covered her butt on the other. When all of the clothing was in place, Gemini snapped her fingers and Hermione's hair was suddenly smoothed from its traditional mess and delicately curled, and she could feel that makeup had been applied.

Glancing into a mirror and seeing the elegance of her attire, even if it did make her look a bit like a tart, was quite confusing. This was certainly not what she had expected. Not in the least. And in a way, it made her even more uneasy for what was going to happen tonight. Without a word, Gemini moved her toward the door, which glided open for the first time in two weeks.


End file.
